Why do we love superheroes, martial arts, fantasy, and sci-fi? The big fight scenes, of course. Every week we’ll bring you an epic brawl from the recent or distant past — we want to hear from you, share your favorite fights with us!

Jackie Chan’s The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)

BONUS: Jackie Chan Talks About Bringing Film To America

What Is It?

Drunken Master II is a 1994 Hong Kong kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung and Jackie Chan, who stars as Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei-hung. It was Chan’s first traditional style martial arts film since The Young Master (1980) and Dragon Lord (1982). The film was released in North America as The Legend of Drunken Master in 2000.

Why Should We Care?

Drunken Master II is a follow-up to Chan’s 1978 film Drunken Master, directed by Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix), but is technically a reboot and not a direct storyline sequel. Another film, Drunken Master III (1994, directed by Lau Kar-Leung) features little in common with either this or its predecessor, and is not considered a sequel. In 2005, Drunken Master II was named one of the top 100 best films of all time by Time magazine.

Each week we’ll highlight interesting, and offbeat, videos regarding some of our favorite LRM topics currently trending on YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, and other popular video sites around the Internet.

Tom Holland’s Origin Story (#41 Trending on YouTube)

What Is It?

Here’s how relative unknown Brit Tom Holland went from obscurity to snagging one of the biggest roles in the world. He stars as Peter Parker in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Why Should We Care?

Since it’s Spider-Man week here at LRM (and the rest of the world too), we thought it might be cool to learn a little more about the newest friendly neighborhood webslinger: Tom Holland. Appearing in just a handful of stage and film roles prior to landing the coveted Spider-Man gig, Holland was just a 20-year-old kid from Thames, England.

Holland broke into the industry as a hip hop dancer, auditioning for the stage musical Billy Elliot in 2006 where he earned a key role. He was later cast in the disaster-survival film, The Impossible (2012) with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, a breakout performance that eventually led to his casting as Peter Parker in 2015.

This is the just the kind of video that we love to stumble across — please share with us cool videos like the above, and we’ll post it in future LRM WEEKEND columns!

Debuting in LRM Weekend: The Creators, a series of profiles, interviews, and documentaries with the legends and innovators of our favorite comics, movies, shows, and characters that span the last 100 years of pop culture.

Legendary Comic Book Artist Jack “King” Kirby

Kirby is known best for his many interpretations of Captain America.

Kirby’s run on Black Panther is truly amazing and other-worldly!

What Is It?

Jack Kirby (1917-1994), born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium.

Why Should We Care?

In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby, generally teamed with Simon, created numerous characters for that company and for the company that would become DC Comics.

Kirby’s comic book work has been the inspiration for illustrators and artists for decades. Everyone from Frank Frazetta to Alex Ross has sought to emulate the dynamic poses and visceral action that was the hallmark of literally every single panel Kirby produced. Few would argue that Kirby defined Marvel comics early days, particularly the debut of Marvel’s seminal team book Fantastic Four #1 in 1961.

Everyone rightly credits Stan Lee for Marvel’s rise in the 1960s, but when you think of the look and imagery of Marvel comics in that era, what you were seeing was Jack Kirby’s art. He defined the look of not only the Fantastic Four, he redefined Captain America, evolved the Avengers, visualized Black Panther’s Wakanda, and reinvented Thor as a cosmic sci-fi icon rather than just a dusty Norse folklore legend. Jack Kirby is THE king of comic book art.

Each of us grew up watching a wide range of movies and TV shows from the 60s-90s that turned us into the fanboys and fangirls that we are today! Whether it’s Ultraman, Jackie Chan, Voltron, Akira Kurosawa, or Knight Rider (you know who you are!), we want you to hear about your favorite movie and TV trailers.

Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

BONUS: Harrison Ford on David Letterman (1982)

What Is It?

Film:Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies

Genre: Action-Adventure

Synopsis: Renowned archeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones, is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the ten commandments. Unfortunately, agents of Hitler are also after the Ark. Indy, and his ex-flame Marion, escape from various close scrapes in a quest that takes them from Nepal to Cairo.

Why Should We Care?

Surely everyone alive has seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, right? This is the film, for me, that defined my childhood. Other than the original Star Wars, no single film represented action, spectacle, and comic book-inspiredaction like the first Indiana Jones film. Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the character was so laconic and understated, evoking classic tough-guy archetypes as pioneered by Humphrey Bogart and Gary Cooper.

The fistfights, chases, and set piece action in this film rivals anything ever made — before or since. All of the stunts were practical (this was pre-pre-pre-CG), particularly the scene where Ford is dragged behind a truck in the deserts near the Algerian border (that’s no stunt double folks). One of the great, American films of all-time (#60 on the AFI Top 100 Films list).

It’s the weekend, which means it’s finally time to catch-up on all the stuff we’ve bookmarked on Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Vimeo, Twitch…you get the idea. The LRM community has millions of hours of stuff on our collective DVRs. We want to hear from you, tell us the shows, movies, etc. you’ve recently finished, or have queued-up!

Captain America: Civil War (Blu-Ray)

What Is It?

LRM fanboy, David Kozlowski, recommends the amazing Marvel MCU debut of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War (2016). The DVD can be found on iTunes or Amazon.

Why Should We Care?

Spider-Man: Homecoming is here!!! So to celebrate all the fun of this new Marvel MCU film, I thought it might be fun to take a few looks at Tom Holland’s debut of the classic character in last year’s Captain America: Civil War. First up is the hilarious Honest Trailer breakdown of the movie, which alone might be cool enough for this week…but wait, there’s more…

We also have a cool behind-the-scenes segment from the Blu-Ray edition of the movie. We have a short featurette that highlights the filming of the epic airport battle scene in full green-screen glory. Followed by the actual airport battle itself. We hope this gets everyone pumped for Spider-Man: Homecoming this weekend — see you there LRM fanboys and fangirls!

Netflix’s GLOW

What Is It?

LRM fanboy Nick Doll recommends fans check out the the new Netflix series GLOW starring Alison Brie and Marc Maron.

Why Should We Care?

Tired of aspiring actresses in film and TV nailing their auditions and getting their dream gig (LA LA Land…cough, cough)? GLOW is set in the 1980s and follows wannabe actress Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie), who is interested in real parts, not the same old secretary and wife roles offered to women…that she still can’t land. Willing to accept less traditional avenues of acting, Ruth becomes a part of a female wrestling television program directed by has-been filmmaker Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron).

GLOW focuses on the professional lives of her and the group of woman who take part in the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling show. Brie is fantastic as Ruth, an intentionally less glamorous role than her previous performances in Community or Mad Men. Maron shines as well, and the rest of the female cast is incredibly strong and likable. A very fun dramedy that examines sexism and stereotypes; yet another show knocked out of the park by Netflix!

Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season 3)

What Is It?

Why Should We Care?

This is a show that’s as silly and cartoony as it gets, but despite that, it manages to deal with some very real traumatic issues. The story follows a girl (Kimmy Schmidt) and her transition back into society after being kidnapped and trapped in a bunker for 15 years. It’s a dark subject matter, but it’s handled very lightly, with a tone that makes 30 Rock look like Irreversible. It always takes me 3-4 episodes to get into every season, but once I do, I have a hard time stopping. This season is no exception. It’s out on Netflix now!

Netflix’s CounterPunch Documentary

What Is It?

LRM fanboy Michael Connally recommends this amazing sports documentary CounterPunch, by director Jay Bulger, about the fall and rise of amateur and professional boxing, which is now streaming on Netflix.

Why Should We Care?

With all the interest and fandom towards the McGregor/Mayweather fight it has brought an interest around the sport of boxing. This documentary gives the audience of what the life of a boxer is really like. Counterpunch follows three different fighters all trying to achieve greatness while navigating through all the rules and corruption outside the boxing ring. With so much attention being brought to the McGregor/Mayweather fight it will be interesting to see if this fight will have a positive, or negative, impact on the boxing world.

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